3.S-],  II 


<^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^^ 


Presented    by    A .  G  .  Cc^-v^  eroVI;,  "P^^-^- 

BV  2060  .J87  1864 

Junkin,  George,  1790-1868. 

The  two  commissions 


%m- 


*     MAR  21  1911 

THE  TWO  COMMISSIONS: 


THE    APOSTOLICAL 


AND 


THE    EVANGELICAL, 


BY  GEORGE  JUNKIN,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

WILLIAM     S.     &    ALFRED    MARTIEN, 

No.  606  Chestnut  Strekt. 

1864. 


^' 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
Social  Law  an  original  law  in  man's  nature 7 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Church — a  social  body  under  this   law — Organized 
under  the  Abrahamic  Covenant.. 12 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  Sinai  Covenant  a  restrictive  system • 14 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Kingdom  of  Messiah:    its  Provisional  Government, 
the  Apostolical  Commission  ..•    •• 18 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  Evangelical  Commission 26 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Two  Commissions  compared — contrasted 32 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Objections.       1.    The    name  Apostle   continues — 2.    The 
functions  continue — 3.  Paul  was  an  Apostle. •  •• 36 


CHAPTER  YIII. 
Practical  results • ?..••••••     43 


NOTICE  AND  DEDICATION. 


The  following  discussion,  for  substance,  has  been 
delivered  on  several  occasions,  as  a  sermon  exposi- 
tory of  the  Gospel  Commission.  Having  been  kindly 
invited  to  participate  in  the  installation  services  of 
a  former  pupil,  the  Eev.  Kobert  M.  Wallace,  over 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Altoona,  Pa.,  the 
author  repeated  the  discourse  on  that  occasion,  on 
the  6th  of  May,  1864.  Whereupon,  the  clerical 
brethren  present  expressed  a  wish  to  have  it  put 
into  a  permanent  form,  as  the  views  set  forth  were, 
in  some  respects,  new  to  them.  With  this  wish  the 
present  little  book  is  a  compliance,  and  a  little 
more.  As  single  sermons  are  generally  unsaleable, 
and,  indeed,  seldom  read  beyond  the  narrow  circle 
of  personal  friendship,  it  is  deemed  advisable  to 
change  the  form  entirely,  to  expand  the  substance 
considerably  on  some  points,  and  to  add  several 
items  to  the  '^Practical  Eesults."  With  these 
alterations,  the  little  book  is  respectfully  and  affec- 
tionately dedicated  to  the  Pastor  and  Church  of 
Altoona,  and  the  Brethren  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Huntingdon,  by  their  friend. 

The  Author. 

Philadelpliia,  June,  1864. 
1* 


THE   TWO    COMMISSIONS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


SOCIAL   LAW  AN"   OEIGINAL    ELEMENT   IN  MAN'S 
NATUKE. 

God  created  man  a  social  being;  and  that,  both 
in  regard  to  things  natural  and  temporal;  and  in 
regard  to  things  spiritual  and  eternal.  Society,  there- 
fore, is  an  ordinance  of  God,  by  a  direct  creating 
act :  and  government,  which  is  the  agency  established 
in  society  to  manage  its  general  interests,  is  a  divine 
Institution.  Many  things,  indeed,  as  to  the  minor 
details  of  business,  both  in  civil  and  in  religious 
society,  so  to  speak,  are  left  to  human  prudence  and 
discretion :  but  the  principles  of  law  and  order  are  all 
prescribed  by  divine  authority.  It  is  God's  preroga- 
tive ;  and  not  man's,  to  create  moral  obligation.  The 
laws  of  our  intellectual,  moral,  and  spiritual  nature, 
are  no  more  the  product  of  human  genius,  than  are 
the  laws  of  mere  physical  nature.  These  last  exist 
in  the  material  world  by  the  direct  exercise  of  cre- 
ating power.  To  search  them  out  and  avail  our- 
selves of  them,  is  our  duty  and  our  high  privilege. 


8 

Newton's  laws,  Kepler's  laws,  are  God's  laws ;  exist- 
ing in  his  works,  before  these  distinguished  philoso- 
phers were  born:  the  honor  of  discovery,  not  of 
invention,  is  all  that  we  can  concede  to  human 
genius.  It  only  acquires  the  knowledge  of  methods 
in  the  divine  administration — the  mode  in  which  the 
first  cause  acts.  But  even  the  more  important  of 
these  were  not  bodied  forth  at  first  only  in  the  crea- 
tion, and  left  for  man  to  seek  out  by  tedious  and 
slow  processes  of  investigation.  Man's  ingenuity  did 
not  discover  the  laws  of  vegetation,  and  then  apply 
them  for  the  production  of  food  and  garden  fruits : 
God  planted  the  garden,  and  taught  him  the  use  of 
it:  thus  putting  him  in  possession  of  the  laws  of 
nature,  and  the  modes  of  their  application  necessary 
for  his  well  being;  and  thus,  by  a  practical  govern- 
ment, forefending  him  against  the  destruction  which 
must  have  ensued,  had  he  been  left  without  a  know- 
ledge of  these  laws,  until  he  discovered  them  by  his 
own  researches  and  experiments. 

So,  neither  did  the  Creator  leave  the  intelligent 
and  social  being,  for  a  moment,  without  law  and  the 
knowledge  of  it,  bat  furnished  him  with  a  prophy- 
lactic remedy  against  the  destruction  which  anarchy 
must  have  speedily  produced.  This  remedy  lies  in 
the  fact,  that  moral  law,  and  the  subjects  and  exe- 
cutive agents  of  it,  were  concreated.  God  did  not 
make  man  an  intellectual  and  moral  infant,  and 
leave  him  to  feel  his  way,  and  discover,  by  plodding 
search,  the  laws  necessary  to  his  continued  social 


9 

existence  and  well-being.  Then  must  he  have  per- 
ished ;  for  the  very  first  experiment  might  have  been 
a  sin ;  and  if  not  the  first,  very  soon  must  he  hkve 
blundered  upon  some  Fourierite  or  Mormon  empirical 
scheme,  in  violation  of  the  social  laws  of  his  nature, 
and  lost  all.  The  discovery  of  moral  law,  a  posteriori, 
is  impossible.  The  reason  is,  because  the  will  of 
God  made  known  as  the  rule  of  action  is  law :  ^'  My 
meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me."  In  the 
divine  mind,  so  to  speak,  ere  man  became  a  living 
soul,  the  laws  of  his  social  nature  existed,  and  were 
breathed  into  his  nostrils  along  with  the  breath  of 
life.  And  thus  we  avoid  the  absurd  conception  of 
an  independent  creature — a  creature  outside  and 
beyond  the  range  of  its  Creator's  authority — a  crea- 
ture without  law. 

An  agency  there  must  be,  for  the  transaction  of 
business  in  and  for  the  social  body;  and  that,  in 
respect  both  to  its  civil  and  its  religious  aspects :  and 
this  agency  must  have  been  originally  and  immedi- 
ately appointed  by  the  Creator  himself.  Now,  what 
seems  philosophically  a  necessity,  does  also  appear 
to  us  historically  a  truth.  Adam  was  divinely  con- 
stituted, in  both  aspects,  the  head  of  his  race.  So, 
in  the  reconstruction  of  society  under  Noah:  so, 
under  Abraham:  so,  under  Moses:  so,  under  the 
divine  Lord  himself.  In  all  these  five  cases,  the  inci- 
pient movements  were  all  divine,  supernatural,  and 
miraculously  attested.  They  are  initiatory;  intro- 
ductory; or,  as  we  now  phrase  it  in  regard  to  organ- 


10 

izations  of  infinitely  less  importance,  jjrovisional ; 
that  is  temporary,  and  leading  forward  to  something 
statle  and  permanent. 

Such  seems  also  to  be  the  law  of  our  social  nature, 
within  the  sphere  allotted  to  human  skill  and  pru- 
dence. Take,  for  illustration,  a  case  of  extreme  sim- 
plicity— the  formation  of  an  association  or  society 
for  the  accomplishment  of  any  right  object — and 
none  other  can  rightly  be  undertaken — say  the  esta- 
blishment of  a  hospital.  Some  individual  conceives 
and  suggests  to  others  the  idea :  notice  is  published, 
inviting  persons  like-minded  to  meet  at  such  a  time 
and  place  for  this  object :  a  crowd  assembles — can  they 
do  anything  without  organization  ?  without  appoint- 
ing officers  ?  Or,  will  they  not  be  a  mere  inert  mass 
or  a  mob  ?  What  then  is  the  obvious,  simple,  and 
usual  method?  Some  person — most  probably  the 
Original  conceiver  of  the  idea — assumes  the  respon- 
sibility— the  prerogative,  if  you  please — and  nomi- 
nates a  temporary  chairman,  and  calls  the  vote. 
Now  we  have  a  provisional  government.  The  mass  of 
individuals  are  no  longer  insulated  and  independent, 
but  they  constitute  a  body;  one  social  body,  organ- 
ized and  under  law  previously  existing,  for  its  own 
government;  and  as  an  organized  body,  with  an 
object  declaredly  in  view  consistent  with  and  promo- 
tive of  the  public  good,  it  is  under  the  protection  of 
public  law;  no  man  may  disturb  it  with  impunity. 
This  provisional  government  proceeds  to  a  perma- 
nent organization  for  the  accomplishment  of  their 


11 

benevolent  desig^:  they  adopt  a  constitution,  ap- 
point all  necessary  officers ;  and  having  exercised  all 
proper  powers  of  a  provisional,  merge  themselves  in 
the  permanent  government  of  the  institution. 

Now,  from  the  innumerable  instances  of  this  kind, 
all  over  the  face  of  society,  are  we  not  entitled,  yea, 
constrained  to  infer,  that  the  substance  of  such  pro- 
cedure is  a  necessity,  and  therefore  a  law  of  our 
social  nature?  And  if  so,  mast  we  not  find  it  also 
within  the  sphere  not  only  of  morals,  but  also  of 
religion?  The  matter  in  reference  to  which  this  law 
is  brought  to  bear,  changes  not  the  law  itself. 
Whether  it  be  a  hospital,  a  bank,  a  college,  a  rail- 
road, or  a  church,  the  social  law  abides  the  same. 
Organization  is  necessary  to  the  vital  action  of  the 
social  body ;  yea,  to  its  very  being  as  a  body — one 
body.  The  Church  must  have  officers  in  order  to  the 
action  of  its  vital  functions. 


12 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   CHURCH — A   SOCIAL   BODY  UNDER   THIS   LAW — 
ORGANIZED  UNDER  THE  ABRAHAMIC  COVENANT, 

It  is,  perhaps,  too  obvious  to  require  tlie  remark 
here,  that  by  Church  we  mean  the  ChurcTi  visible: 
not  the  redeemed  in  heaven;  not  the  elect;  not  true 
believers  on  earth;  not  regenerated  and  truly  con- 
verted persons.  These  epithets  designate  the  Church 
that  is  invisible;  that  is,  they  are  not  cognizable  by 
our  vision  here  in  this  world ;  they  do  not  constitute 
a  society — one  society,  whicb  mortal  eyes  can  here 
behold.  But  the  Church  of  which  we  speak,  is  a 
visible  body,  consisting  of  all  those  who  make  a 
credible  profession  of  the  true  religion — who  call 
upon  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  together 
with  their  children.  This  visible  Church  includes 
most  true  believers  on  earth — the  wheat  of  the 
parable — and  often,  alas!  some  tares — some  whose 
whole  religion  is  their  profession;  but  none  of  those 
who  have  gone  to  glory ;  and  none,  as  yet,  who  in 
an  after  period  shall  come  out  and  be  separate. 

This  visible  Church,  we  hold,  was  organized  under 
the  covenant  of  God  with  Abraham,  and  not  before. 
Prior  to  this,  multitudes  believed,  and  separated 
from  the  world;  but,  so  far  as  we  can  read  the 
record,  were  not  organized  under  the  dispensation  of 


13 

an  external  covenant;  making  its  covenanters  one 
body,  known  and  recognized  by  outward  visible 
signs  and  seals.  But  this  point  we  may  not  discuss, 
because  those  who  run  farther  back  in  search  of  the 
visible  Church,  do  not  dissent  from  our  position, 
that  it  was  organized  under  the  Abrahamic  cove- 
nant, and  this  is  all  that  is  necessary  for  our  purpose. 
Two  sacramental,  outward,  visible  seals,  are  here 
recognized,  sacrifice  and  circumcision,  representing 
redemption  by  the  death  of  Christ,  the  Lamb  of  God, 
and  sanctification  by  the  work  of  the  Divine  Spirit. 
This  constitution,  as  it  were,  of  the  visible  Church, 
had  its  government,  its  rules  of  admission  and  of 
exclusion.  The  start-point  of  its  governmental 
administration  was  from  God  directly,  and  it  was 
accompanied  by  supernatural  and  miraculous  evi- 
dences. In  Abraham  was  the  provisional  govern- 
ment, a  sovereignty,  a  monarchy  in  fact.  But  the 
stock  patriarchal  shortly  elaborated  itself  into  a 
great  number  of  aristocratic  heads,  until  the  days  of 
Moses  and  Sinai. 

The  framework  of  this  ecclesiastical  constitution 
was  most  ample  in  its  comprehension ;  it  embraced 
the  world ;  it  made  provision  for  the  inbringing  of 
the  nations;  it  guaranteed  that  Abraham  should  be 
the  heir  of  the  world,  the  father  of  many  nations; 
yea,  that  all  nations  should  flow  into  it. 


14 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   SINAI    COVENANT   A   KESTEICTIVE    SYSTEM. 

To  this  ecclesiastical  constitution,  under  which  the 
people  professing  godliness  were  organized  into  the 
visible  Church,  was. superadded,  four  hundred  and 
thirty  years  afterward,  the  restrictive  enactments  of 
Sinai.     This  did  not  abrogate  the  covenant,  as  Paul 
most  abundantly  demonstrates.    In  point  of  fact,  the 
ceremonial  regulations  of  Sinai  are  chiefly,  if  not 
entirely,  evangelical  institutions,  having   reference 
constantly  to  Messiah  and  the  great  salvation.     By 
their  misunderstanding  and  their  perversion  of  them, 
the  people,  it  is  true,  made  them  a  yoke  of  bondage, 
just   as  unsound   church    members    now   do   with 
church  order  and   discipline;    and   their   exclusive 
character,  in  the  same  way,  made  them  repulsive  to 
the  heathen  nations.     This  middle  wall  of  partition 
was   to  remain  in   full  strength  as  long  as   Israel 
proved  faithful.  Exod.  xix.  5 — 8.     ''Kow  therefore, 
if  ye  will  obey  my  voice  indeed,  and  keep  my  cove- 
nant, then  ye  shall  be  a  peculiar  treasure  unto  me 
above  all  people :  for  all  the  earth  is  mine.     And  ye 
shall  be  unto  me  a  kingdom  of  priests,  and  an  holy 
nation.    These  are  the  words  which  thou  shalt  speak 
unto  the  children  of  Israel.     And  Moses  came  and 


15 

called  for  the  elders  of  the  people,  and  laid  before 
their  faces  all  these  words  which  the  Lord  com- 
manded him.  And  all  the  people  answered  together, 
and  said,  All  that  the  Lord  hath  spoken  we  will 
do.  And  Moses  returned  the  words  of  the  people 
unto  the  Lord."  This  covenant  was  renewed  and 
expanded  thirty-nine  years  afterward  onthe  borders 
of  Canaan.  You  have  the  account  in  Deut.  xxix* 
Yery  fully  and  distinctly  does  the  Lord,  by  Moses, 
forewarn  them  of  the  fearful  calamities  that  would 
follow  their  breach  of  this  covenant  of  restriction, 
and  of  the  glorious  benefits  of  their  faithfulness.  So 
long  as  they  stood  in  their  integrity,  they  should 
be  the  Lord's  peculiar  treasure — a  kingdom  of 
priests ;  and  so  long,  the  gospel  could  not  go  forth 
on  the  broad  basis  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant. 
But  their  unfaithfulness  should  open  the  door  to  the 
Gentiles,  as  Paul  argues  in  Kom.  xi.  11,  ^'Through 
their  fall  salvation  is  come  unto  the  Grentiles." 
Then,  and  not  till  then,  could  the  gathering  of  the 
people  be  to  Shiloh,  the  Peace-maker. 

Here  again  we  have  the  provisional  administra- 
tion. Moses  stood  between  God  and  the  people. 
He  held  the  reins  of  government,  and  made  consider- 
able advances  toward  the  separation  of  the  civil 
from  the  ecclesiastical  functions  in  the  social  body, 
ex.  gr.,  in  the  institution  of  the  priestly  office  and 
the  Levitical  consecration,  and  in  the  appointment 
of   the   grand,   supreme   court   of    the   Sanhedrim, 


16 

in  the  appointment  of  which  he  introduced  the 
popular  element.  They  were  appointed  by  nomina- 
tion and  vote  of  the  people,  and  thus  a  succession 
was  secured. 

The  other  element,  important  as  a  link  in  our 
chain  of  thought,  is  also  fully  supplied  here. 
Miracles,  very  abundant,  prove  his  divine  mission, 
and  give  sanction  to  his  legislation.  The  plagues 
and  wonders  in  Egypt,  the  passage  of  the  Ked  Sea, 
the  perpetual  miracle  of  the  manna,  the  rock 
smitten,  the  garments  not  wearing  out,  &c.,  &c.,  all 
demonstrate  the  presence,  power,  and  authority  of 
the  great  and  glorious  God. 

These  Sinai  restrictions  upon  the  ecclesiastical 
constitution,  glorious  and  terrible  as  was  their  intro- 
duction, and  wise  and  benevolent  as  was  the  pro- 
visional government  under  which  they  were  intro- 
duced, proved,  as  we  have  said,  nevertheless  a  yoke 
of  bondage  and  thraldom  to  that  rebellious  and  stiff- 
necked  people ;  yet  they  continued  more  than  fifteen 
centuries.  During  this  long  stretch  of  ages,  the 
doctrines  of  grace  were  illustrated  and  enforced, 
expounded  and  applied  in  almost  infinite  variety  of 
methods,  and  by  a  vast  diversity  of  agencies.  One 
result  of  all  that  was  spoken  and  written  in  the  law 
of  Moses,  and  in  the  Psalms  and  the  Prophets,  con- 
cerning the  promised  Seed  of  Abraham,  was  a  high 
and  glorious  conception  of  his  kingdom  yet  to  come. 
His  reign  was  expected,  by  all  the  faithful,  to  be  a 


17 

reign  of  peace,  happiness,  and  prosperity;  his 
dominion  must  extend  from  sea  to  sea,  from  the 
rising  of  the  sun  to  the  going  down  of  the  same,  and 
all  dominions  shall  serve  and  obey  him.  ''  His  name 
shall  endure  for  ever;  his  name  shall  be  continued 
as  long  as  the  sun,  and  men  shall  be  blessed  in  him ; 
all  nations  shall  call  him  blessed." 


2* 


18 


CHAPTER  lY. 

THE  KINGDOM  OF    MESSIAH:    ITS  PKO VISIONAL    GOV- 
ERNMENT;  THE    APOSTOLICAL    COMMISSION. 

In  this  kingdom  of  God — this  blessed  reign  of 
Christ — this  administration  which  is  not  conducted 
on  the  principles  of  this  world,  we  shall  find  the 
same  category  as  in  the  Abrahamic  and  in  the 
Mosaic  dispensations.  That  is,  we  shall  find  an 
initiatory,  a  forming,  a  transition  state — a  provisional 
government;  and  after  this  a  full-formed  and  per- 
manent state  of  things.  The  former  is  covered  by 
the  Apostolical  Commission ;  the  latter  by  the  Evan- 
gelical Commission. 

TJie  Apostolical  Coinmission.  Of  this  we  have 
three  distinct  records.  Matt.  x.  1 — 10.  ''And  when 
he  had  called  unto  him  his  twelve  disciples,  he  gave 
them  power  against  unclean  spirits,  to  cast  them  out, 
and  to  heal  all  manner  of  sickness,  and  all  manner  of 
disease.  Now  the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  are 
these;  The  first,  Simon,  who  is  called  Peter,  and 
Andrew  his  brother ;  James  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and 
John  his  brother ;  Philip,  and  Bartholomew ;  Thomas, 
and  Matthew  the  publican;  James  the  son  of  Al- 
pheus,  and  Lebbeus,  whose  surname  was  Thaddeus; 


19 

Simon  the  Canaanite;  and  Judas  Iscariot,  who  also 
betrayed  him.  These  twelve  Jesus  sent  forth,  and 
commanded  them,  saying,  Go  not  into  the  way  of 
the  Gentiles,  and  into  any  city  of  the  Samaritans 
enter  ye  not.  But  go  rather  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the 
house  of  Israel.  And  as  ye  go,  preach,  saying,  The 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand.  Heal  the  sick, 
cleanse  the  lepers,  raise  the  dead,  cast  out  devils: 
freely  ye  have  received,  freely  give.  Provide  neither 
gold,  nor  silver,  nor  brass  in  your  purses;  nor  scrip 
for  your  journey,  neither  two  coats,  neither  shoes, 
nor  yet  staves."  And  the  entire  chapter  is  taken  up 
with  a  charge  to  them. 

Mark  iii.  13,  15.  ''And  he  goeth  up  into  a  moun- 
tain, and  calleth  unto  him  whom  he  would :  and  they 
came  unto  him.  And  he  ordained  twelve,  that  they 
should  be  with  him,  and  that  he  might  send  them 
forth  to  preach,  and  to  have  power  to  heal  sicknesses, 
and  to  cast  out  devils."  Then  follow  the  names,  and 
nothing  further. 

Luke  vi.  12,  13.  "And  it  came  to  pass  in  those 
days,  that  he  went  out  into  a  mountain  to  pray,  and 
continued  all  night  in  prayer  to  God.  And  when  it 
was  day,  he  called  unto  him  his  disciples:  and  of 
them  he  chose  twelve,  whom  also  he  named  apostles." 
Then  follows  the  list  of  names. 

With  these  scriptures  before  us,  let  us  link  together 
the  following^  remains. 

1.  Christ  himself  did  not  live  and  minister  under 
the   New   Testament   dispensation,  or   kingdom  of 


20 

God.  Paul  tells  us,  (Rom.  xv.  8,)  ''  that  Jesus  Christ 
was  a  minister  of  the  circumcision."  He  closed  his 
ministry  before  the  kingdom  was  set  up  on  the  day 
of  Pentecost :  and  he  says  himself,  (Matt.  xv.  24,)  to 
the  "  woman  of  Canaan  ...  I  am  not  sent  but  unto 
the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel.  ...  It  is  not 
meet  to  take  the  children's  bread  and  to  cast  it  to 
dosrs," 

o 

2.  The  transcendent  importance  of  the  selection 
and  ordination  of  the  apostles,  is  manifested  by  the 
fact,  that  he  spent  the  whole  preceding  night  in 
prayer  to  God.  I  am  aware,  it  is  often  said,  he  spent 
whole  nights  in  prayer.  It  may  have  been  so,  but 
he  has  not  so  recorded  it;  that  is  the  only  instance 
of  it. 

3.  This  election  and  ordination  occurred  near  the 
commencement  of  his  own  ministry  in  the  Jewish 
church.  The  precise  date  cannot  be  ascertained ;  but 
these  three  records  place  it  early.  It  could  not  have 
been  long  after  the  vocation  of  Peter  and  Andrew, 
of  James  and  John. 

4.  The  chief  business  of  their  ministry  was  to 
establish  the  fact  of  their  Master's  Messiahship ;  and 
to  testify  to  his  death  and  resurrection.  This  is 
manifest  from  several  considerations.  (1.)  Their 
miraculous  powers  are  set  forward  much  more  pro- 
minently than  their  preaching  function.  See  Matt.  x. 
1 — 8;  Mark  iii.  15,  and  vi.  7 — 13;  Luke  ix.  1 — 6. 
So  also  the  seventy  (Luke  x.  1 — 16,)  to  whom  tlie 
same  charge  was  given  as  to  the  twelve.     In  these 


21 

general  instructions,  the  prohibition  to  provide  sup- 
plies of  money,  food,  and  clothing,  seems  to  refer  to 
the  miraculous  supply  of  the  church  in  the  wilder- 
ness. (2.)  But  now,  the  well  understood  use  of  a 
miracle  is  to  prove  the  divine  mission  of  the  person. 
Christ's  own  miracles,  as  Nicodemus  alleges,  had 
this  effect,  and  those  wrought  by  his  missionaries,  in 
his  name — by  his  authority  and  power,  that  is — had 
the  same  design  and  force.  (3.)  To  have  seen  Christ, 
both  before  his  death  and  after  his  resurrection,  was 
an  indispensable  qualification  for  the  apostolate; 
this  is  manifest  from  the  case  of  Matthias,  Acts  i. 
20 — 22.  ''His  bishopric  let  another  take.  Where- 
fore of  these  men  which  have  companied  with  us,  all 
the  time  that  the  Lord  Jesus  went  in  and  out  before 
us,  beginning  from  the  baptism  of  John,  unto  that 
same  day  that  he  was  taken  up  from  us,  must  one  be 
ordained  to  be  a  witness  with  us  of  his  resurrection." 
So,  in  the  case  of  Paul,  when  his  apostleship  was 
questioned,  he  appealed  to  these  facts,  (1  Cor.  ix.  1,) 
''Am  I  not  an  apostle  ?  Am  I  not  free?  Have  I  not 
seen  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord?"  Had  he  not  seen 
Christ,  both  before  and  after  his  crucifixion,  he  could 
not  have  been  "a  witness  with  us  of  his  resurrection." 
(4.)  The  preaching,  which  was  of  a  very  simple  cha- 
racter, leads  to  the  same  point.  "  And  as  ye  go, 
preach,  saying,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  hand" — 
the  time  is  near  when  the  reign  of  the  Messiah  shall 
commence. 

5.  My  fifth  general  remark  is,  that  the  apostolical 


22 

commission,  as  it  was  issued  "before  his  crucifixion, 
and  whilst  he  was  a  minister  of  the  circumcision,  so 
it  was,  in  express  terms,  limited  as  his  own  was,  to 
the  Jewish  people — ^'  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of 
Israel."  Matt.  x.  5,  6:  "These  twelve  Jesus  sent 
forth,  and  commanded  them,  saying,  Go  not  into  the 
way  of  the  Gentiles,  and  into  any  city  of  the  Sama- 
ritans enter  ye  not.  But  go  rather  to  the  lost  sheep 
of  the  house  of  Israel."  And  so  he  said  to  the  woman 
of  Canaan,  (Matt.  xv.  24,)  "I  am  not  sent  but  to  the 
lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel." 

Moreover,  this  express  limitation  has  its  counter- 
part in  the  actual  fact,  that  they  never  went  beyond 
the  precincts  of  Judea,  until  after  the  new  commission 
was  given  to  them.  And  even  when  they  went 
abroad,  after  they  received  the  evangelical  commis- 
sion, the  missionaries  felt  bound  by  the  order, 
''beginning  at  Jerusalem,"  they  always  preached  to 
the  Jews  first  and  only,  (Acts  xi.  19,)  "  preaching 
the  word  to  none  but  to  the  Jews  only."  And  it 
required  the  trance  of  Peter,  (Acts  x.)  and  the  vision 
of  the  great  sheet,  to  overcome  this  misconstruction 
of  this  new  commission. 

6.  The  reason  is  to  be  sought  in  the  restriction  by 
the  Sinai  covenant,  which  guaranteed  religious  privi- 
leges to  the  Jews,  as  the  peculiar  treasure  and  people 
of  God.  Until  they  proved  unfaithful  and  broke 
their  vows,  the  gathering  of  the  nations  to  Shiloh 
could  not  take  place.  Christ  could  become  the  light 
of   the  Gentiles   only  after  the  seed  of  Abraham 


23 

should  have  put  their  light  under  a  bushel.  The 
evidences  of  their  apostacy  must  be  clear  and  indu- 
bitable, in  order  that,  through  their  unbelief,  salva- 
tion might  go  forth  to  the  nations  under  the  broad 
seal  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant.  The  natural 
branches  must  be  cut  off  before  the  wild  olive  scions 
can  be  grafted  in  contrary  to  nature.  ''It  was 
necessary,"  says  Paul,  (Acts  xiii.  46,)  "that  the  word 
of  God  should  first  have  been  spoken  to  you:  but 
seeing  ye  put  it  from  you,  and  judge  yourselves 
unworthy  of  everlasting  life,  lo,  we  turn  to  the 
Gentiles." 

7.  One  suggestion  yet  remains,  viz.,  that  no  pro- 
vision is  made  for  the  perpetuity,  by  transmission 
through  human  hands,  of  the  apostolical  commis- 
sion. Apostles  never  were  commanded,  and  never 
attempted  to  appoint  apostles.  On  the  contrary, 
Paul,  who  expressly  admits  an  irregularity — at  least 
a  peculiarity  in  his  own  case — ''as  one  born  out  of 
due  time,"  very  particularly  and  emphatically  denies 
succession  through  human  agency.  Speaking  to  the 
Galatians  (i.  12)  of  the  gospel,  he  says,  "I  neither 
received  it  of  man,  neither  was  I  taught  it,  but  by 
revelation  of  Jesus  Christ."  And  he  proceeds  to 
show  that  he  was  not  called  and  ordained  an  apostle 
through  any  human  instrumentality.  No  presby- 
tery, nor  synod,  nor  bench  of  bishops,  had  anything 
at  all  to  do  with  his  call  and  ordination  to  the  apos- 
tleship.  Yerses  15 — 17,  "But  when  it  pleased  God, 
who   separated  me  from  my  mother's  womb,  and 


24 

called  me  by  his  grace,  to  reveal  his  Son  in  me,  that 
I  might  preach  him  among  the  heathen;  imme- 
diately I  conferred  not  with  flesh  and  blood :  neither 
went  I  up  to  Jerusalem  to  them  which  were  apostles 
before  me."  So  great  an  event  as  the  ordination  of 
an  apostle — and  especially  such  a  monster  of  wick- 
edness as  Saul  had  been — would  undoubtedly  have 
produced  a  sensation  in  Jerusalem.  The  very  silence 
of  Scripture  on  this  point  is  no  feeble  proof  that  such 
an  ordination  never  took  place.  But  we  have  more 
than  negative  proof;  for  he  declares^  (Gal.  i.  1,) 
''Paul,  an  apostle,  (not  of  men,  neither  by  man — 
[not  fro7n  men — drr  dvO pcoircov ;  neither  through  man — 
dc  dvdpcoTToo,']  but  by  [through]  Jesus  Christ  and 
God  the  Father,  who  raised  him  from  the  dead.") 
Here  he  claims  to  be  an  apostle ;  he  denies  that  he 
received  the  ofl&ce  through  man's  agency ;  he  affirms 
that  he  received  it  directly  from  Jesus  Christ ;  "  by 
whom,"  as  he  says,  (Rom.  i.  5,)  ''we  have  received 
grace  and  apostleship."  Accordingly,  when  he  went 
up  to  Jerusalem,  after  his  escape  from  Damascus,  the 
apostles  there  refused  to  fellowship  with  him,  until 
"Barnabas  took  him  and  brought  him  to  the  apos- 
tles, and  declared  unto  them  how  he  had  seen  the 
Lord  in  the  way,  and  that  he  [the  Lord]  had  spoken 
to  him."  (Acts  ix.  27.)  Demonstrably  evident,  then 
it  is,  that  Paul  was  not  ordained  to  the  apostleship 
by  and  through  man,  but  by  Jesus  in  a  personal 
interview. 

The  same  is  proved  in  the  case  of  Matthias.     The 


25 

bishopric  of  Judas  was  not  conferred  on  Mattliias 
by  any  college  of  bishops  or  of  cardinals.  They, 
indeed,  cast  lots,  but  they  did  it  as  an  appeal  to 
God;  for  they  knew  that  "the  lot  is  cast  into  the 
lap:  but  the  whole  disposing  thereof  is  of  the 
Lord."  (Prov.  xvi.  33) — more  literally,  its  judgment 
from  Jehovah.  These  men,  knowing  that  none  but 
our  Lord  personally  could  appoint  an  apostle,  prayed 
and  said,  "  Thou,  Lord,  which  knowest  the  hearts  of 
all  men,  show  us  whether  of  these  two  thou  hast 
chosen,  that  he  may  take  part  of  this  ministry  and 
apostleship,  from  which  Judas  by  transgression 
fell."  (Acts  i.  24,  25.)  They  assume  it,  that  their 
Lord  only  could  make  an  apostle,  and  that  he  had 
chosen  the  man ;  and  there  being  two,  and  but  two, 
who  had  all  the  indispensable  prerequisites,  viz., 
companying  with  them,  seeing  Jesus  before  and 
after  his  death,  they  thus  ask  him  to  point  out  which 
he  had  chosen.  Matthias  was  made  an  apostle,  not 
by  man,  but  by  the  Lord  and  King. 

Thus,  as  in  all  former  cases,  we  have  a  prelimi- 
nary and  temporary  arrangement — a  provisiorml 
government — in  many  things  analogous  to  our 
national  afi'airs,  from  the  Declaration  to  the  full 
organization  under  the  Constitution.  The  apos- 
tolical office,  attended  by  high  and  strong  powers, 
and  miraculous  gifts,  fills  up  the  gap  between  the 
Mosaic  and  the  evangelical  dispensation.  Our  next 
topic  will  give  us  less  trouble. 
3 


26 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  EVANGELICAL  COMMISSION. 

The  record,  Matt,  xxviii.  18 — 20,  ^'And  Jesus 
came  and  spake  unto  them,  saying,  All  power  is 
given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  Go  je  there- 
fore, and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost:  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you:  and  lo,  I  am 
with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world. 
Amen." 

Mark  xvi.  15,  ''Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature.  He  that  be- 
lieveth,  and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved ;  but  he  that 
belie veth  not,  shall  be  damned." 

The  other  evangelists  record  not  the  express  lan- 
guage of  the  commission,  but  many  of  the  remarks 
and  instructions  uttered  in  connection  with  it ;  and 
especially  "that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins 
should  be  preached  in  his  name  among  all  nations, 
beginning  at  Jerusalem;"  and  directing  them  to 
"tarry  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  until  ye  be  endued 
with  power  from  on  high;"  that  is,  until  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  when  the  kingdom  proper  should  be  set 
up. 


27 

1.  On  this  we  remark:  The  date  of  this  commis- 
sion was  after  our  Lord's  resurrection,  and  immedi- 
ately before  his  ascension,  and,  of  course  about  three 
years  after  the  preliminary  commission.  This,  as  a 
link  in  our  chain  of  thought,  is  all-important;  but 
so  evident  and  undeniable,  as  to  render  delay  for 
proof  and  illustration  entirely  unnecessary. 

2.  It  is  based  on  this  ground,  that  all  power  is 
given  to  him.  And  several  subordinate  observations 
will  be  proper.  (1.)  The  power  or  authority  is 
given  to  him.  As  God,  it  is  obvious,  no  power 
could  be  given,  for  ^'all  things  were  made  by  him, 
and  without  him  was  not  any  thing  made,  that  was 
made,"  (John  i.  3.)  But  as  Mediator,  as  God-man, 
authority  is  derived,  conferred,  bestowed  upon  him; 
it  is  an  acquisition. 

(2.)  This  giving  universal  authority  to  the  Media- 
tor, is  the  reward  of  his  work.  He  has  finished  the 
work  which  his  Father  had,  in  the  councils  of  eter- 
nity, assigned  to  him,  and  which  he  had  voluntarily 
assumed;  he  had  paid  the  full  ransom  price,  and  ful- 
filled all  righteousness;  consequently  he  must  re- 
ceive his  reward,  and  the  means  of  vindicating  the 
rights  of  his  purchase.  A  right  by  purchase,  in- 
volves the  ability  to  vindicate,  possess,  and  occupy. 
The  giving  of  all  power  to  Christ  is,  therefore,  not 
to  him  a  gratuity,  but  the  concession  of  his  right  to 
rule  the  universe. 

(3.)  Prior  to  the  concession  and  possession  of  this 
right,  Jesus  had  no  authority  to  send  his  ambassa- 


28 

dors  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Sinai  covenant.  But 
now,  having  the  heathen  for  his  inheritance  by- 
appointment  of  the  Father,  through  his  own  fulfil- 
ment of  all  the  terms  of  the  covenant,  his  is  the 
earth  and  the  fulness  thereof.  Having  broken  down 
the  middle  wall  of  partition,  he  has  a  right  to  com- 
mand the  nations  all  to  enter  in  through  the  rent 
vail  of  his  own  flesh.  Here  is  the  foundation,  true, 
and  real,  and  just — the  Rock,  whence  flow  the  living 
waters  all  over  this  desert  world.     Therefore  my 

3d.  General  remark.  Note  the  amplitude  of  range 
which  this  commission  takes.  ^'And  the  kingdom 
and  dominion,  and  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom 
under  the  whole  heaven,  shall  be  given  to  the  people 
of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  whose  kingdom  is  an 
everlasting  kingdom,  and  all  dominions  shall  serve 
and  obey  him."  (Dan.  vii.  27.) 

4.  The  function  most  prominent  in  this  great  com- 
mission, is  the  communication  of  sacred  truth  to  the 
minds  of  men.  One  record  says,  ''Go,  teach;"  the 
other,  ''Go,  preach  the  gospel;"  the  matter  of  the 
instruction  unites  the  two  statements:  "All  things 
whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you." 

5.  The  administration  of  the  sacraments  is  em- 
braced. Baptism  is  expressly  mentioned,  and  the 
sacred  supper  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  things 
commanded  to  be  observed.  "  This  do  in  remem- 
brance of  me."  The  same  is  true  of  the  administra- 
tion of  discipline  in  the  Church.     Many  orders  have 


29 

been  given  to  withdraw  from  disorderly  persons;  to 
exclude  them  from  the  Church. 

6.  The  2^romise,  ^'Lo  I  am  with  you,  &c.,"  may  be 
considered  as  involving  three  things.  (1.)  The  per- 
sons to  whom  it  is  addressed.  And  negatively  we 
note,  it  is  not  addressed  to  apostles  as  such.  Every 
one  of  tbe  gospel  historians  ignores  that  term  in  this 
connection,  except  that  the  women  use  it  once.  (Luke 
xxiv.  10.)  In  no  instance  are  the  recipients  of  this 
commission  called  apostles.  But,  positively,  it  is  ad- 
dressed to  "the  disciples," — "the  eleven  disciples," — 
"the  eleven."  In  the  entire  post-resurrection  history 
by  the  four  evangelists,  the  word  disciple  is  used 
eight  times,  (only  by  John  in  application  to  himself) ; 
the  plural,  disciples,  is  used  nineteen  times,  ap.d  often 
when  the  term  apostles  would  seem  most  convenient 
and  precise.  For  what  reason?  unless  to  preclude 
tbe  idea  that  the  comniission  was  given  to  them  as 
apostles  in  the  technical  or  oiEcial  sense. 

The  recipients  of  this  commission,  no  doubt, 
include  the  eleven  who  had  been  ordained  apostles; 
but  tbe  commission  itself,  with  the  appended  pro- 
mise, is  difterent,  and  others  were  comprehended 
under  the  term  disciples.  When  Matthias  was 
appointed  by  the  Lord,  Peter's  speech  (Acts  i.  J5 — 
22)  seems  to  have  been  the  only  one  made.  "And 
in  those  days  Peter  stood  up  in  the  midst  of  the  dis- 
ciples, and  said,  (the  number  of  the  names  together 
were  about  an  hundred  and  twenty,)  Men  and 
brethren,  this  Scripture  mu§t  needs  have  been  fuj- 
8* 


30 

filled;  &c."  Indisputably,  he  addressed  the  hundred 
and  twenty  disciples,  and  not  the  eleven  apostles 
only;  and  to  the  disciples  as  such,  and  not  to  the 
apostles  as  such,  was  the  evangelical  commission  also 
given.  Cases  like  this  are  of  perpetual  occurrence 
all  over  the  face  of  society ;  office  is  often  added  to 
office,  and  generally  in  an  ascending  series.  The 
ambassador  to  Portugal  becomes  Minister  Plenipo- 
tentiary to  France  or  to  England,  but  by  a '  new 
commission.  The  Secretary  of  Legation,  anon,  be- 
comes Minister;  the  colonel  is  soon  a  general;  the 
deacon  of  last  year  is  an  elder  to-day,  and  next  year 
the  same  man  is  a  minister;  Stephen  is  commissioned 
"to  serve  tables;"  again  he  receives  another  commis- 
sion, and  becomes  a  public  preacher  of  the  word. 

(2.)  The  matter  of  the  promise  is  not  specifically 
detailed,  but  obviously  implied.  To  be  constantly 
along  with  a  person  appointed  and  called  to  the 
performance  of  arduous  duties,  is  a  pledge  of  all 
needed  aid;  and  without  this  promise  few  would 
consent,  and  none  properly  qualified  would  agree 
to  go. 

(3.)  The  perpetuity  of  this  commission  is  here 
affirmed.  Christ  pledges  his  constant  presence  "unto 
the  end  of  the  world."  As  it  has  no  limit  in  space 
short  of  the  whole  world,  so  it  has  no  limit  in  time, 
but  where  time  confines  on  eternity.  Here  then  is 
the  doctrine  of  succession.  As  a  score  or  two  of 
years  must  soon  earth  up  all  the  disciples  to  whom 
directly  the  commission  is  given,  it  is  obvious  that 


SI 

the  perpetuity  of  the  Master's  divine  presence  with 
his  teachers,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world,  is  impos- 
sible on  any  other  supposition,  but  that  of  a  regular 
succession  of  officers;  and  the  subsequent  history 
assures  us  they  so  understood  their  commission,  for 
everywhere  they  ordained  elders,  evangelists,  and 
pastors. 


at 


CHAPTER  YI. 

THE   TWO    COMMISSIONS    COMPAKED — CONTRASTED. 

1.  They  agree  in  their  divine  origin.  Botli  are 
from  God,  and  are  comprehended  and  ensured  by 
the  covenant  of  grace,  before  the  world  was  made, 
and  therefore  display  his  everlasting  love,  and 
boundless  mercy.    Consequently, 

2.  They  agree  as  to  the  substantial  matter  of  their 
teaching.  Salvation  by  grace,  through  the  obedi- 
ence, sufferings,  and  death  of  the  woman's  seed,  the 
seed  of  Abraham — the  root  and  the  offspring  of 
David — is  the  grand  substance  of  both.  The  gospel 
is  preached  unto  us,  as  well  as  unto  them. 

3.  They  agree  as  to  the  general  character  of  the 
agencies  they  create.  These  are  ambassadors — per- 
sons sent  by  due  authority,  and  clothed  with  func- 
tions which  they  are  bound  to  execute,  according  to 
the  orders  of  Him  that  sent  them.  Both  classes  are 
missionaries.  This  last  word  is  Latin,  and  a  correct 
translation  of  the  Greek  word  apostles;  mej^ning, 
simply,  persons  sent. 


POINTS  OF   DIFFERENCE. 

1.  They  differ  as  to  date.  The  Apostolical  Com- 
mission was  issued  to  the  whole  twelve  at  once,  and 
at  the  beginning  of  Christ's  public  ministry ;  when, 
to  use  a  political  nomenclature,  he  formed  his  Cabi- 
net. The  Evangelical  Commission  was  uttered  after 
he  had  finished  up  all  else  of  his  work  and  suffer- 
ings on  earth,  and  arisen  from  the  dead;  and  was 
just  about  to  ascend,  to  possess  his  throne  in  the 
heavens. 

2.  They  differ  as  to  the  basis  of  authority.  The 
Apostolic  Commission,  though  having  its  remote 
foundation  in  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  yet  is  it 
modified  by  the  restrictive  covenant  at  Sinai.  The 
Evangelical  Commission  has  its  foundation  on  the 
broad  basis  of  Abraham's  covenant,  in  rescuing 
which  from  the  Sinai  restrictions,  by  his  obedience, 
death,  and  resurrection,  our  Saviour  has  vindicated 
to  himself  all  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth;  and 
here  has  laid  down  its  enduring  foundation:  ''Go 
ye,  therefore,  and  disciple  all  nations." 

3.  As  a  consequence,  they  differ  as  to  extent  of 
range  in  space.  The  Apostolic  was  limited  to  the 
lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel;  the  Evangelical 
embraces  all  nations.  The  Star  of  Bethlehem  glim- 
mered over  the  narrow  field  of  Judea,  and  then  set 
in  blood  on  Calvary ;  the  Sun  of  Eighteousness  rises 
from  the  mortal  bondage  of  the  rocky  tomb,  and 
bursts  over  all  the  earth. 


u 

4.  The  Commissions  differ  in  time.  The  one  ter- 
minates with  the  fading  life  of  the  immediate  recipi- 
ents, there  being  no  provision  in  it  for  succession ; 
the  other  has  the  Divine  guarantee  that  it  shall 
endure  to  the  end  of  the  world.  Of  it  the  evangeli- 
cal' prophet  speakS;  (Isa.  Ixii.)  "The  Gentiles  shall 
see  thy  righteousness,  and  all  kings  thy  glory." 
And  it  is  of  this  commission  he  speaks,  (ver.  6 :)  "I 
have  set  watchmen  upon  thy  walls,  0  Jerusalem, 
which  shall  never  hold  their  peace,  day  nor  night." 

5.  They  differ  as  to  their  outward,  visible  ordi- 
nances. The  one  is  concerned  with  Jewish  lustra- 
tions— the  passover,  and  divers  other  ceremonial 
sacrifices,  looking  forward  to  a  Messiah  yet  to  come, 
and  offer  up  the  great  sacrifice ;  the  other,  with  the 
sacred  supper,  looking  backward  to  a  finished  atone- 
ment, by  the  perfected  sacrifice  of  the  Lamb  of  God, 
and  a  baptism  of  water  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in 
the  name  of  the  ever  blessed  Trinity. 

6.  They  differ  as  to  the  prominence  of  miracles. 
The  Apostolic,  designed  to  prove  Christ's  Messiah- 
ship,  looks  ever  to  miraculous  works  for  its  main 
efficiency;  the  Evangelical,  though  aided  by  mira- 
cles, relies  mainly  on  the  word  of  truth,  brought 
home  by  the  Spirit,  for  conviction,  conversion,  and 
sanctification. 

7.  Lastly,  they  differ  in  this,  that  the  Apostolical 
Commission  is  part  and  portion  of  a  transition — 
reforming  state  of  the  Church — a  provisional  gov- 
ernment, in  fact;  the  winding  up  of  a  dispensation, 


85 

indeed,  of  long  but  limited  duration;  a  kingdom 
that  can  be  moved,  for  the  purpose  of  preparing 
for  one  that  cannot  be  moved.  (Heb.  xii.  28.)  The 
Evangelical  Commission  opens  up  a  new  economy ; 
inaugurates  an  administration,  permanent,  glorious, 
and  everlasting  as  the  throne  whence  it  emanates. 


36 


CHAPTER  YII. 

OBJECTIONS — 1.  THE  NAME,  APOSTLE,  CONTINUES. 
2.  THE  FUNCTIONS  CONTINUE.  3.  PAUL  WAS  AN 
APOSTLE. 

The  objection  arises  very  naturally — ^'Bnt  the  name, 
apostle,  continues  to  be  used  as  an  official  term,  not- 
withstanding the  issuance  of  the  Evangelical  Com- 
mission :  this  proves  that  the  office  is  not  abolished ; 
that  the  alleged  new  commission  is  really  only  an 
enlargement  of  the  powers  of  the  old." 

To  these  the  answers  are  as  obvious  as  the  objec- 
tions are  natural. 

(1.)  The  term  apostle  is  sometimes  used  in  its 
generic  meaning  as  a  noun  common.  So  it  is  applied 
to  the  Saviour  himself,  (Heb.  iii.  1 :)  ''  Consider  the 
Apostle  and  High  Priest  of  our  profession,  Christ 
Jesus."  So,  Paul's  kinsmen  (Rom.  xvi.  7,)  Androni- 
cus  and  Junia,  being  of  note  among  the  apostles, 
surely  does  not  mean,  that  they  were  apostles  in 
the  official,  technical  sense;  but  simply,  that  they 
were  noted  in  the  mission  at  Corinth.  And  in  2  Cor. 
viii.  23,  Paul  surely  does  not  mean,  when  he  speaks 
of  "our  brethren — as  the  apostles  of  the  churches" — 
to  affirm  these  messengers,  as  we  translate  the  word 
apostles,  to  be   such    in    the   official   and   technical 


37 

sense ;  nor  that  Epaphroditns  was  an  apostle,  (Phil, 
ii.  25.) 

(2.)  Terms  of  office  very  frequently  continue  after 
the  functions,  and  even  the  office  itself  has  expired. 
We  'have  captains,  and  colonels,  and  generals,  by 
hundreds,  who  are  out  of  office,  and  have  no  com- 
pany, or  regiment,  or  brigade  to  command.  We 
have  sherij&s,  and  judges,  and  governors  out  of  office, 
yet  still  so  designated.  We  have  ministers  that  do 
not  preach,  and  doctors  of  divinity  that  do  not  teach 
theology. 

(3.)  But  our  main  response  is,  that  the  inference 
is  illogical.  For,  whilst  we  admit  the  fact,  that  the 
Apostolical  office  and  name  continue,  we  hold  to  it 
as  a  part  of  our  doctrine,  and  it  cannot  be  made  to 
bear  against  us.  We  have  never  taught  or  believed 
that  the  Apostolic  Commission  was  at  any  time  with- 
drawn, or  that  any  of  its  functions  were  recalled; 
and,  consequently,  do  not  hold  that  the  name,  Apos- 
tU,  in  its  strict,  technical,  official  meaning,  does  not 
frequently  occur  in  New  Testament  use,  since  the 
issuing  of  the  Evangelical  Commission.  On  the  con- 
trary, we  maintain  that  the  office  and  the  Commis- 
sion Apostolic  continues ;  but  only  in  the  hands  of 
those  individual  men  who  received  it  from  Christ. 
With  them  it  lived;  with  them  it  died  out.  More- 
over, they — perhaps  all,  but  certainly  most  of  them — • 
received,  along  with  others,  a  new,  enlarged,  and 
more  glorious  commission,  whose  functions  never 
4 


38 

die  out  with  tlie  deatli  of  the  individuals,  but  endure 
"even  to  the  end  of  the  world." 

As  to  the  allegation  that  the  evangelical  is  not  a 
new,  but  only  an  enlargement  of  the  apostolical 
commission,  by  the  superaddition  of  some  new 
powers,  we  suppose  the  last  chapter  has  shut  the 
door  against  it,  and  we  need  not  add  another  word. 

An  objection  is  brought  against  our  doctrine, 
with  great  plausibility,  from  the  case  of  Paul.  It  is 
asked  in  triumph,  What  do  you  say  to  the  Apostle 
to  the  Gentiles?  Does  not  the  very  designation 
upset  your  whole  theory  ?  Did  not  Paul  say,  "Lo, 
we  turn  to  the  Gentiles"  ?  (Acts  xiii.  46 ;)  and  (Acts 
xxii.  21)  does  not  the  Lord  tell  him,  "For  I  will 
send  thee  far  hence  to  the  Gentiles"?  And  Paul 
himself  tells  the  Eomans  (xv.  15,  16)  that,  "Never- 
theless, brethren,  I  have  written  the  more  boldly 
unto  you  in  some  sort,  as  putting  you  in  mind, 
because  of  the  grace  that  is  given  to  me  of  God; 
That  I  should  be  the  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  to  the 
Gentiles,  ministering  the  gospel  of  God,  that  the 
offering  up  of  the  Gentiles  might  be  acceptable, 
being  sanctified  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  This  is  the 
objection. 

As  to  the  fact  of  Paul's  apostleship,  there  is  no 
dispute ;  and  as  little  room  is  there  for  any  question 
about  his  preaching  to  the  Gentiles.  Other  apostles, 
probably  all  of  them,  did  the  same.  But  in  regard 
to  the  original  apostles,  we  have  seen,  at  some 
length,  that  they  received  a  new  and  more  extended 


89 

and  glorious  commission,  and  that  under  this  it  was 
that  they  preached  to  the  heathen.  But  again,  it  is 
objected  that,  in  1  Cor.  ix.  2,  Paul  seems  to  affirm 
his  apostleship  to  have  a  special  reference  to  them. 
"  If  I  be  not  an  apostle  unto  others,  yet  doubtless  I 
am  to  you :  for  the  seal  of  mine  apostleship  are  ye 
in  the  Lord." 

To  this  as  an  objection,  we  answer,  (1)  that  the 
Greek  word,  both  in  its  verbal  and  nominal  form,  is, 
as  before  stated,  used  in  its  generic  sense ;  and  thus 
is  the  noun  to  be  understood  in  this  passage — a  mis- 
sionary, *^  If  I  be  not  a  missionary  of  God  to  others, 
doubtless  I  am  to  you,  for  your  conversion  to  God 
is  the  seal  of  my  mission."  So  would  I  read  Kom. 
i.  5,  '^By  whom  we  have  received  grace  and  a 
mission." 

But  (2)  and  chiefly,  Paul,  whilst  he  admitted  an 
irregularity  in  his  call  and  appointment,  as  "one 
born  out  of  due  time,"  and  asserts  that,  "last  of  all, 
Christ  was  seen  of  him" — an  indispensable  condition 
for  the  apostleship — and  whilst  he  labored  more 
abundantly  than  they  all,  (1  Cor.  xv.  7 — 10,)  yet  did 
he  not  go  to  the  Gentiles  under  his  apostolical  com- 
mission. This  he  was  called  to  on  his  way  to 
Damascus,  (Acts  ix.  19,  20.)  "  Then  was  Saul  cer- 
tain days  with  the  disciples  at  Damascus.  And 
straightway  he  preached  Christ  in  the  synagogues, 
that  he  is  the  Son  of  God" — this  beinsr  the  burden 
of  his  commission.  He  dealt  only  with  the  Jews — 
V.  22 — "confounding    the    Jews   which    dwelt    at 


40 

Damascus,  proving  that  this  is  very  Christ.  And 
after  that  many  days  were  fulfilled,  the  Jews  took 
counsel  to  kill  him."  "  At  Jerusalem  also  he  preached 
the  same,  and  disputed  boldly  against  the  Grecians,**' 
(v.  29) — not  heathen,  but  Jews  from  Greece.  ''But 
they  went  about  to  slay  him.  Which  when  the 
brethren  knew,  they  brought  him  down  to  Cesarea, 
and  sent  him  forth  to  Tarsus."  This,  however,  was 
probably  on  his  second,  if  not  his  third,  visit  to 
Jerusalem;  for  he  tells  us  (Galat.  i.  17,  18)  that 
"Neither  went  I  up  to  Jerusalem  to  them  which 
were  apostles  before  me;  but  I  went  into  Arabia, 
and  returned  again  unto  Damascus.  Then,  after 
three  years,  I  went  up  to  Jerusalem  to  see  Peter, 
and  abode  with  him  fifteen  days.  .  .  .  Afterwards  I 
came  into  the  regions  of  Syria  and  Cilicia."  (Gal. 
ii.  1,)  "Then,  fourteen  years  after,  I  went  up  again 
to  Jerusalem  with  Barnabas,  and  took  Titus  with 
me  also."  This  is  the  visit  mentioned  in  Acts  xi.  80, 
when  the  disciples  sent  relief  to  the  brethren  at  Jeru- 
salem, "by  the  hands  of  Barnabas  and  Saul,"  who 
returned  to  Antioch  when  they  had  fulfilled  their 
ministry.  (Acts  xii.  25.)  During  all  these  move- 
ments, the  disciples  "travelled  as  far  as  Phenice,  and 
Cyprus,  and  Antioch,  preaching  the  word  to  none 
but  to  the  Jews  only."  (Acts  xi.  19.)  But  after 
Peter's  vision  of  the  great  sheet,  and  after  the 
decision  of  the  brethren  at  Jerusalem  on  that  sub- 
ject, "they  glorified  God,  saying.  Then  hath  God 
also  to  the  Gentiles  granted  repentance  unto  life." 


41 

(Acts  xi.  18.)  Then  followed  a  glorious  revival  at 
Antioch,  and  "tidings  of  these  things  came  unto  the 
ears  of  the  church  which  was  in  Jerusalem,  and  they 
sent  forth  Barnabas,  that  he  should  go  as  far  as 
Antioch;"  and  he  labored  with  great  zeal  and 
efficiency,  ''and  much  people  was  added  unto  the 
Lord.  Then  departed  Barnabas  to  Tarsus,  for  to 
seek  Saul :  And  when  he  had  found  him,  he  brought 
him  unto  Antioch:  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  a 
whole  year  they  assembled  themselves  with  the 
church,  and  taught  much  people."  (Acts  xi.  25,  26.) 
But  whilst  this  revival  was  progressing  among  ''the 
Jews  only,"  and  "the  Grecians,"  "the  Holy  Ghost 
said.  Separate  me  Barnabas  and  Saul,  for  the  work 
whereunto  I  have  called  them.  And  when  they  had 
fasted  and  prayed,  and  laid  their  hands  on  them, 
they  sent  them  away."  They  released  {aneXoaav) 
them  from  their  charge.  Here  we  have  the  record 
of  the  ordination  of  Paul  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Antioch.  To  this  high  honor  he  refers  in  Eph. 
iii.  8,  "That  I  should  preach  among  the  Gentiles  the 
unsearchable  riches  of  Christ."  And  1  Tim.  ii.  7, 
"I  am  ordained  ...  a  teacher  of  the  Gentiles;"  and 
2  Timothy  i.  11,  "I  am  appointed  a  preacher,  and 
an  apostle,  and  a  teacher  of  the  Gentiles ;"  and  Gal. 
ii.  9,  "They  gave  to  me  and  Barnabas  the  right 
hands  of  fellowship,  that  we  should  go  unto  the 
heathen." 

Now  a  great  door  and  effectual  is  open  before  him. 
He  has  received  the  Evangelical  Commission  through 
4* 


42 

the  hands  of  men,  whereas  he  declares  his  Apostoli- 
cal Commission  was  not  received  by  men,  or  through 
men's  agency,  but  directly  and  immediately  from 
•Christ  himself  He  is  now  a  missionary,  an  evan- 
gelist to  the  Gentiles.  Now  is  fulfilled  the  Divine 
purpose,  announced  to  Ananias,  (Acts  ix.  15,)  that 
*^Saul  is  a  chosen  vessel  unto  me,  to  bear  my  name 
before  the  Gentiles,  and  kings,  and  the  children  of 
Israel;"  the  commission  is  conferred  in  the  usual 
method  of  ordination,  by  fasting  and  prayer,  and 
"the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery."  (See 
1  Tim.  iv.  14.)  In  this  case,  it  appears,  the  revival 
had  attracted  many  to  Antioch,  and,  observing  the 
efficiency  of  Paul's  services,  they  proceeded  to  his 
ordination.  There  were  present,  besides  Barnabas 
and  Saul,  "  Simeon,  that  was  called  Niger,  and  Lucius 
of  Cyrene,  and  Manaen,"  (Acts  xiii.  1);  and  also,  as 
Paul  tells  us,  (Gal.  ii.  9,)  "James,  Cephas,  and 
John,"  who  seemed  to  be  pillars,  united  and  "gave 
the  right  hand  of  fellowship."  Prior  to  this  he  had 
no  authority  to  go  beyond  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house 
of  Israel,  to  whom  his  first  commission,  miraculously 
conferred,  was  limited.  There  is  no  evidence  that 
he  or  any  other  apostle,  as  an  apostle,  ever  preached 
to  the  heathen.  The  Evangelical  Commission  must 
supervene. 


43 


CHAPTER  YIII. 

PRACTICAL    RESULTS. 

1.  There  is  an  authorized  ministry  in  the  church; 
and  an  orderly  method  provided  for  its  perpetuation. 
*'No  man  taketh  this  honor  unto  himself,  but  he  that 
is  called  of  God,  as  was  Aaron."  This  divine  voca- 
tion is  first  inward  by  the  Spirit ;  then  outward,  by 
the  providences  of  God  opening  the  way  and  fur- 
nishing the  proper  qualifications ;  and  then  outward 
also,  by  the  vocation  of  the  people  of  God — the  dis- 
ciples must  be  heard.  The  voice  of  the  Lord,  speak- 
ing by  his  Holy  Spirit  in  the  hearts  of  his  own 
people,  is  an  essential  part  of  the  heavenly  call. 
This  element  secures  religious  liberty  in  the  church. 
Let  ministers  make  ministers  ad  lihitem,  and  the 
people  of  the  Church  are  saddled  with  a  despotic 
power,  that,  in  the  end,  crushes  out  both  liberty  and 
religion. 

2.  A  system,  therefore,  of  probation,  is  of  incalcu- 
lable importance.  ''Lay  hands  suddenly  on  no 
man;"  let  no  man  be  hastily  thrust  into  the  sacred 
office,  as  either  teacher  or  ruler ;  and  even  the  dea- 
cons, who  are  appointed  to  serve  tables,  "  must  first 


44 

be  proved."  It  has  often  appeared  to  me,  that  the 
very  salutary  regulations  laid  down  in  our  Constitu- 
tion are  too  little  regarded.  Young  men  are  hurried 
away  from  our  Seminaries;  extra  Presbyteries  are 
often  called  to  ordain  them,  before  they  have  been 
tried  and  proved  by  a  hearing  before  the  disciples 
and  churches.  The  public  voice  of  the  godly  is 
never  heard ;  they  have  the  private  recommendation 
of  a  Professor,  but  there  is  no  opportunity  for  the 
people  to  ''  perceive  the  grace  that  was  given  to 
them."  A  few  sermons,  on  which  they  have  spent  a 
large  portion  of  their  seminary  labors,  fill  their  side 
pockets,  and  pass  off  very  well;  but  when  these 
polished  shafts  are  all  drawn  from  the  quiver,  a 
change  overshadows  the  pulpit ;  the  light  grows  dim, 
the  audiences  diminish;  a  bad  cold,  a  bronchial 
affection,  calls  upon  the  Presbytery  to  dissolve  the 
pastoral  relation;  a  string  of  deeply  regretting  reso- 
lutions accompany  the  painful  acquiescence  for  its 
necessity ;  and  the  call,  which,  may  chance,  never  was 
the  intelligent  voice  of  the  pious  people  of  the  con- 
gregation, is  returned  to  the  Presbytery;  and  so  they 
wrap  it  up.  Such  are  some  of  the  painful  conse- 
quences of  our  departure  from  the  old  landmarks  of 
our  Book.  Why,  dear  reader,  it  has  become  very 
extensively  a  custom  with  Presbyteries,  to  assign 
trial  pieces  for  licensure,  when  a  young  man  is  first 
taken  under  their  care  as  a  candidate,  and  before  he 
has  begun  the  study  of  theology !  Can  we  expect 
the  Lord  to  protect  the  Church  from  the  dreadful 


46 

evil  of  so  many  without  charges,  while  we  neglect 
our  own  salutary  rules  ? 

3.  Foreign  missionaries  ought  not  to  be  boys,  just 
from  the  schools  of  the  prophets.     The  legions  of 
error  and  death  are  not  to  be  overwhelmed  by  a 
squad  of  '^ recumbent  virtue's  downy  doctors."     If 
Vicksburg  is  to  be  carried,  you  must  send  a  Grant; 
if  New  Orleans,  you  must  send  a  Farragut  and  a 
Butler:  if  Gettysburg,  you  must  send  a  Meade,  a 
Howard,  a  Sedgwick.     If  Borne  is  to  be  reduced  to 
the  feet  of  Jesus,  you  must  send  a  Peter;  if  Antioch, 
a  Barnabas;  if  Ephesus,  Corinth,  and  proud  Athens, 
you  must  send  a  Paul.     These  observations  are  not 
retrospective.     We  have  and  have  had  a  very  fair 
proportion  of  the  right  kind  of  men  in  the  foreign 
field.     Let  us  continue  this  policy  and  a  little  more. 

4.  The    Evangelical    Commission    is    superior, 
greatly  superior  in  dignity,  excellence,  glory,  and 
duration,  to  the  Apostolical,  with  all  its  extraordi- 
nary and  supernatural  powers.    The  scaffolding,  the 
shears,  and  other  machinery,  are  greatly  inferior  to 
the  building  which  they  have  assisted  to  construct. 
When  their  purpose  is  subserved,  they  are  removed, 
that  the  permanent  structure  may  stand  forth  in  all 
its  beauty,  that  the  nations  may  shout,  Grace!  Grace 
unto  it.     So  thought  Paul,  when  he  devoted  himself 
to  the  life  of  an  itinerant  missionary.     So,  in  mercy 
to  the  Church  over  all  the  earth,  may  Barnabases 
and  Pauls  be  enabled  and  constrained  to  think,  until 
Zion   shall  arise    and   shine,    because   her  light  is 
come. 


46 

5.  Claimants  to  apostolical  succession  have  no. 
authority  to  preacli,  ''but  to  the  Jews  only" — ''to 
the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel."  "Go  not  in 
the  way  of  the  Gentiles." 

6.  The  great  duty  of  the  Christian  ministry  is,  to 
teach  the  things  of  Christ — to  "teach  all  nations 
to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded 
you."  Bible  exposition  is  the  soul  of  pulpit  labor. 
But  here  it  is  proper  to  remark,  that  the  contents 
of  the  sacred  volume  are  vastly  various,  and  not  at 
all  equally  important.  No  topic  can  well  enter  the 
mind  of  mortal  man,  which  may  not  be  found 
less  or  more  distinctly  mentioned  in  the  Book. 
Geogeny,  geology,  mineralogy,  botany,  zoology, 
astronomy,  and  a  hundred  other  sciences,  can  find 
a  text  to  present  them.  Mental  and  moral  science, 
anthropology,  and  theology;  history,  natural,  pro- 
fane, and  sacred;  all  possible  subjects  may  be  found. 
Obviously,  however,  those  that  lie  at  the  foundation 
of  a  sinner's  hopes  for  eternity,  are  those  which 
must  occupy  the  bearer  of  the  Evangelical  Commis- 
sion, for  the  gospel  is  a  remedial  law.  Bible  expo- 
sition, however,  there  is  reason  to  fear,  is  not  the 
characteristic  of  pulpit  services  in  our  land.  Scarcely 
any  minister  conducts  a  continuous  exposition  of 
any  book  of  Scripture  in  the  pulpit.  The  public 
taste  will  rarely  tolerate  it.  The  press  has  sup- 
planted the  pulpit,  both  in  this  regard,  and  in 
regard  to  quantity  of  preaching,  as  measured  by 
time.     Public  taste  can  tolerate  two,  three,  or  four 


47 


hours  of  speech-making  on  politics,  science,  slavery, 
or  war;  but  an  hour's  discourse  on  the  issues  of 
eternity  and  the  judgment-day  would  be  utterly 
unbearable.  Is  this  owing  to  the  vastly  increased 
power  of  analysis  in  the  pulpit,  or  of  synthesis  in 
the  pews?     It  may  be,  but  I  doubt  it. 

7.  The  administration  of  the  sacraments  is  another 
function  of  this  office,  but  of  a  lower  order.  Both 
sacraments  set  forth  fundamental  doctrine;  and 
these,  in  connection  with  discipline  in  the  Church, 
which  belongs  largely  to  the  ruling  elders,  are  very 
importantly  concerned  in  the  preservation  of  her 
purity;  and  without  purity,  her  power  for  good  soon 
vanishes  away.  Of  course,  old  women's  or  young 
nurses'  baptism  is  not  an  ordinance  coming  under  the 
functions  of  this  commission;  neither  do  masses 
charged  and  paid  for  at  five  shillings  apiece,  have 
any  efficacy  in  evangelizing  the  world,  and  saving 
men  from  death,  the  grave,  and  eternal  torments. 

8.^  How  fearful,  then,  in  view  of  this  grand  and 
glorious  Commission,  are  the  responsibilities  of  the 
Church !  A  lost  world  hangs  upon  the  faithful  dis- 
charge of  its  duties.  Oh,  let  us  hearken  to  the 
startling  mquiry,  -Whom  shall  I  send?  and  who 
will  go  for  us?"  Oh,  young  men  of  America,  by 
hundreds  of  thousands  you  have  heard  the  call  of 
your  country,  and  have  sprung  forward  to  her 
relief.  You  have  done  well.  But  when  this,  your 
terrible  service,  shall  have  been  finished  up,  there 
will  present  itself  a  field  far  more  extensive ;  battles 


48 

of  the  warrior  far  more  interesting  and  glorious 
than  those  which  are  with  confused  noise,  and  gar- 
ments rolled  in  blood.  Over  this  revolted  world 
your  Lord  claims  rightfully  a  right  of  absolute 
dominion.  He  is  marshalling  his  forces  for  the 
battle  and  for  the  victory.  Already  rides  he  forth 
upon  his  white  horse.  Faithful  and  True  is  He;  in 
righteousness  doth  he  judge  and  make  war;  hia 
eyes  are  as  a  flame  of  fire,  and  on  his  head  are  many 
crowns;  and  his  name  is  called,  The  Word  of  God. 
Our  King  wants  men — volunteers;  the  service  is 
glorious,  the  victory  is  sure,  the  triumph  eternal. 
Who  will  follow?  ''Pray  ye  the  Lord  of  the  har- 
vest, that  he  will  send  laborers  into  his  harvest." 


''llffififimill'iS'Jl?!^.^'  Seminary   Libraries 


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